Category Archives: At Home Recipes

My Apple Dapple Cake Recipe

This cake is one that my husband and many of our friends look forward to me making every year. I use fresh, locally grown apples from the apple grower who lives right down the road from us. He has the best apples! As always, I modified the recipe I had found many years ago in our local paper. I adapted it to fit our tastes and in my opinion, make it better than the original recipe. This is my version. I’m telling ya’, it’s like Autumn’s best flavors and aromas all rolled into one amazingly moist and delicious treat.

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup light brown sugar, loosely packed

3 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon soda

2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

3 cups apples, peeled and chopped into bite size chunks (I use Red or Golden Delicious apples because they are sweet and get softer when cooked. But any apple of choice is good.)

DIRECTIONS:

Mix first 5 ingredients until well blended. Sift the next four and add to above. Fold in nuts and apples last. Mix by hand until batter is stiff. Bake in greased and floured Bundt/tube pan in preheated 350 degrees oven for 1 hour or 9″ x 13″ pan for 30 – 45 minutes. Allow to cool for 10 – 15 minutes to turn the Bundt/tube cake out onto a cake plate.

TIP: You can serve with just a little warmed spice applesauce poured over the slice for extra goodness.

From my at home world to yours…..Enjoy your slice of Autumn! And please let me know how you like this family favorite recipe.

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Chocolate! Peanut Butter! Oatmeal! And fudge too! OH YES! This is my go to when I want a homemade sweet chocolate treat but don’t want to spend much time on it. I always have the ingredients on hand too.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Fudge

Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Fudge

In a medium saucepan over high heat, mix together the following ingredients, stirring well to blend completely. Boil hard for 1 minute.

1/2 Cup butter or margarine

3 Tbsp. Cocoa

2 Cups Sugar

1/2 Cup Milk

Remove from heat. Add:

1/2 Cup Peanut Butter (stir in until melted and blended throughout)

1 Tbsp. Vanilla

3 Cups Oatmeal (1 minute kind)

Stir well to blend. Pour into 9″ x 9″ square or similar size rectangle baking dish (I use an 8-1/2″ x 12″ rectangle) or onto wax paper. Allow to cool. Cut into squares and enjoy.

It’s football season! And that means the need for mucho grande yum while enjoying the game. I thought I would share a quick and flavorful recipe that is great as a dip or a casserole for this week’s Real Meal Deal Monday in our Facebook community. It’s cheesy, spicy and down right OmGosh good! Really!! It’s like the ultimate nachos…….on steroids!

This is my own creation out of my own need and love for an intense flavor explosion. It’s designed to be very versatile and adaptable to your taste buds. Give it a try. Make it your own…the way you like it. I think you’ll love how easy and tasty it is.

Just look at this easy and versatile recipe that can be adapted to fit a variety of needs and tastes. Here it is pictured on plates with different toppings to give you an idea of the possibilities.

Sliced black olives

Avocado chunks

guacamole

Shredded Lettuce, spinach leaves or other green

PREPARATION DIRECTIONS

Cook ground beef (or other ground meat) in skillet until completely done. Drain. Return to skillet, add taco seasoning mix, cooking according to directions on the seasoning pack. (I add a little extra water to make a tad wetter meat mixture). Cook rice according to directions. Heat the refried beans in the microwave or a saucepan on low with a little water or beef broth to make them loose and spreadable.

Bake in the oven at 375 degrees until cheese is melted and bubbly. Remove from oven, let cool slightly then start layering on your toppings of choice, either in the baking dish(s) or roaster pan. Or do it like we do here at our home, on our own warmed plates for each individual’s personal topping likes. The more layers, the more flavor you get with each bite and the more it becomes a mucho grande dish.

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Serve it up as a casserole meal on warmed plates with tortilla chips or Doritos. Serve in the baking dish as a warm dip with your tortilla chips or Doritos.
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**This recipe adapts very easily to a person’s personal taste, as you can tell. It can be mostly assembled ahead of time and heated in the oven just before serving. Simple, easy and tasty. Kids (and the guys) love using the chips as scoops/spoons. Finger foods are so much fun!

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Doesn’t that sound yummers? Give it a try for your game day or for supper during the week. I can almost promise you that your family or guests will go mucho grande loco for this dish.

I make this real meal deal about once a month at my house. It’s one of those budget friendly, easy to make, easy to clean up meals that I am very fond of and is quickly becoming mandatory around here. I mean it is seriously E-A-S-Y! As always in my at home world, I shoot for foods that are versatile, flavorful and nutritious with a decent balance of proteins, carbs and veggies, which this one is. Plus my guy loves it (so do kids and they can help make it) so that is a huge bonus. This one is all that and a bag of chips! Ok, so chips are optional but that’s beside the point.

I hope you like it as much as we do and will drop back in here or at the At Home Woman community on Facebook with a comment to let me know what you think about this easy foil wrapped yum. Ohhh…..Did I mention it is easy? *wink*

HOBO DINNER – A REAL MEAL DEAL from AT HOME WOMAN

HOBO DINNER (makes 4-8 servings)

*Note: You can adjust the amount or # of veggies to serve more or less people. Rule of thumb is 3 – 4 oz of protein source, 1/4 – 1/2 cups of each veggie, 1 small ear of corn per person.

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef, pork, turkey or chicken (May also use meat chunks, sausage or cooked beans as the source)

Directions:

Line a 9″ x 13″ baking dish with heavy duty aluminum foil. Begin layering ingredients in this lined pan, beginning with meat followed by a sprinkling of onions, then the veggies.

I like to sprinkle a handful of the onions between each layer and salt each layer as well. You can put any herbs you may want to use within the layers too.

Layers 3 & 4 – Carrots and Green Beans

Once you have all your ingredients in the pan, add your water or broth/stock to help with moisture and flavor. Cover the filled pan tightly with aluminum foil.

Hobo Dinner – Ready to cover and go into the oven.

Bake in a preheated 400 degrees oven until potatoes and carrots are tender and meat is done all the way through.

Serve with a crusty bread, rolls or cornbread if you like.

Note: You can also make individual serving pouches, putting enough of each ingredient in a sheet of aluminum foil and wrapping it into a “pouch pocket” with a couple of cubes of ice in each one as the moisture to help it steam in the pouch. Also makes a good campfire or grill cooked meal.

Whallah! Supper is on the table and it didn’t take too much work. Bon A’Petit y’all!

It’s the day after Easter. It was, by all standards, a great holiday. You celebrated the resurrection of Jesus Christ with your church family. Later, the little ones enjoyed the best Easter egg hunt ever and your family chowed down a nice ham dinner.

But now you have a mess of ham and a pile of colorful hard boiled eggs left in the fridge. What ever will you do with it all?

Well, have I got a Real Meal Deal recipe idea for you. Beyond the ordinary and just a bit unconventional….just like me *tehehe*. How does Classic Diner Ham & Egg Salad sound to you? Yes, it’s my twist on two classic favorites. It’s yummy on fresh bread, toast, hot biscuits or a warm croissant, in a pita pocket or a soft flour tortilla for a wrap. You can eat it alone, with crackers, stuffed in a tomato, on a bed of greens or with a green salad. Serve it hot or cold, for breakfast, lunch or supper. It’s pretty versatile that way. Plus, it’s EASY to make as well as economical.

I’ll give you the recipe for about 3 cups of finished salad but you can easily adapt to the amount you want to make. I’m sorry I don’t have a photo of this dish for you, but I haven’t made a batch of it yet this year.

(If you like onion in your salad, you can add to taste. Chopped green onions are nice and give a fresh spring flavor.)

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together by hand until well incorporated. Refridgerate in an airtight bowl until ready to serve. If serving hot, just heat (covered) in the oven until heated through, stirring well afterwards.

Do you need a good sized dessert for a crowd? Maybe something chocolatey and creamy with some crunch? Ooooohhh……Have I got a treat for you!

Chocolate x 2, creamy and buttery crunch! What’s not to love!

I created this recipe when I wanted something just so indulgent and delicious, you couldn’t help but get taken in by it.

And yes, it really is served up in a punch bowl or you can use a large glass or trifle bowl for a smaller sized dish as this recipe gives you. You can easily double the recipe below to fill a large punch bowl (making exceptions for the pudding filling and Cool Whip where needed).

Prepare brownies according to package directions. I like to make the cake like brownies for this. Allow to cool completely.

In a large mixing bowl, mix instant pudding and cold milk together until completely mixed. Add 1 tub of Cool Whip and blend until smooth and creamy and fluffy. Set aside.

In a glass punch bowl or large trifle bowl, crumble 1/3 to 1/2 of the cooled brownies as your first layer. Follow with 1/3 t0 1/2 of the pudding mixture. Next layer, spread a layer of Cool Whip. Follow this layer with 1/2 to 1/3 of the crumbled toffee pieces and some of the chopped pecans.

Continue layers in this way until you reach the top of the bowl (or the last of your ingredients), ending with the toffee and pecans for garnish.

Chill, uncovered, for a minimum of 2 hours.

Serve it up in the bowl with a large spoon for dipping it out. Watch people dive in and listen to them sing your culinary praises. Only you’ll know just how easy it is.

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New Year‘s Eve bashes! New Year’s Day football frenzies! Fun times, friends, family and fellowship! And wouldn’t you know it. Your guests want food! Not just chips, cheese balls and onion dip either. They want deliciously tasty bites. You want EASY. Feed ’em what they want AND make it easy on yourself while you’re at it. So I’m here to help you with these five recipes for tasty, sure to satisfy, easy to make bites. SCORE! and WIN!

Preheat oven to 375. Press biscuits into the bottom & up the sides of muffin pans sprayed with non-stick spray.

Brown the ground beef and/or sausage. Stir in the pizza sauce and any additional filling ingredients of choice.

Spoon 2 tablespoons of filling mixture into the center of each cup. Bake at 375 for 15-17 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven. Sprinkle with cheese; bake 3 minutes longer or until cheese is melted and bubbly.

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SPINACH BALLS

Ingredients:

2 pkgs. Frozen chopped spinach (cooked & drained)

¾ C melted butter

2 C packaged stuffing mix

1 medium onion (finely chopped)

1/2 C parmesan cheese

1 tsp. thyme

1 tsp. garlic

1 tsp. season salt

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together. Let cool. Shape into balls and freeze. Remove from freezer, place on cookie sheet. Bake at 350* for 20 minutes.

Bricks. Door stops. The gift that you get to pass around…year after year after year after year. I’m sure you’ve heard all the jokes. Through the years, fruit cake has really gotten a bad rap. I suspect much of this is because of the commercially produced ones that are heavy enough to sink a ship, don’t really taste very good and just seem to last forever.

Those are not real fruit cakes. Real fruit cakes are delicious. In fact, in the early days, they were a highly prized gift for the holidays that allowed one to savor the last of the sweet food available until winter was long over.

Good news! Over the next few posts, I’m going to share REAL fruit cake recipes that you are going to love. Today, I’ll start with a twist on this delectable dessert. I call them “Incredible Edible Fruit Cake Cookie Bars”. This is an easy recipe that’s great for getting the kids involved, in cookie exchanges and party sweet treat trays.

In large mixing bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar with mixer on medium until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in extract. Add flour and walnuts; mix well. Fold fruit into batter, incorporating throughout. Spread mixture evenly in prepared baking dish. Garnish if desired. Bake 45 to 50 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool completely on wire rack. Cut into small bars. Store in airtight container.

As you can see, this recipe is alcohol free. Originally, fruit cakes sometimes contained a small amount of alcohol in the recipe and then they were wrapped in alcohol soaked cheese cloth and a small amount of the alcohol poured over it each week for at least one month, as a way of preserving the cake and keeping it moist. These won’t stay around long enough for that to be an issue.

But if you must, you can…..

1.) Increase the flour by 1/4 to 1/2 cup and add up to 1/3 cup of brandy, bourbon or rum into this recipe if you desire.

2.) Add 1 TBSP of an alcohol flavored extract for the slight flavor of it.

3.) Substitute dried fruits soaked in brandy, bourbon or rum at least overnight for the candied fruits fruits in the recipe. Drain before adding to cookie batter.

4.) Make a drizzle glaze from brandy, bourbon, or rum & powdered sugar.

Now…try this recipe and tell me that you still don’t like fruit cake. *wink*

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After all the leftovers, I know you are ready for a change. Nothing fits the bill this time of year quite like a pot of homemade soup. Here’s a family favorite in my house all year long, but especially in the chill of cold weather. And best of all….IT’S EASY. You pretty much just set it and forget it until suppertime. And with leftovers, you can enjoy it for at least 2 meals in one week.

In a large slow cooker, start building your soup by placing all ingredients into the crock, except the ground beef. Stir well to incorporate. Set the slow cooker on low, cover with lid and allow to cook for a couple of hours before adding your cooked and drained ground beef. Reset cooker to low temp setting, cover and allow to cook slowly for 4-6 more hours (or until vegetables are really tender and broth is thickened as desired). Stir occasionally to keep everything moving and cooking well.

Serve with hot cornbread or crusty bread.

*Add more water or broth for a thinner soup base.

**Add more herbs & seasoning if desired

***Add any other vegetables you may want (spinach, kale, turnips, dried beans)

Variation

Exchange beef broth for chicken broth and beef for chicken, turkey or pork.

‘Cause none of us are Martha or Paulawith a stage ready kitchen and an unlimited budget

This post marks the first in The Real Meal Deal recipe shares. WooHoo! Did you think it would never come? I wondered myself. *wink* Busyness sometimes just catches us up and entangles us to a degree. And that is why this sharing feature is such a great thing for all of us at home women. Because, let’s face it. Most of us are busy…make that very busy in our corner of the world.

I’m happy to share 2, yes TWO of my family’s favorites with you today. Both are easy and freezable for convenience. Both are tasty and satisfying. Both are easy to modify, customize to your taste and budget friendly. Both are a real meal deal.

I apologize that there is not a photo for the Chicken Pot Pie. I made it recently but just had a complete brain drain and forgot to snap the shutter. Hey…it happens to the best of us.

I hope you will enjoy these real meal deals, share this post, and please comment on the post here, in the At Home Woman Facebook community and on Twitter.

Happy Cooking!

Ginger

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Chicken Pot Pie

Filling:

1-1/2 lb. cooked chicken (cut into chunks)

1-1/2 cup potatoes (peeled & diced)

1-1/2 cup carrots (peeled and diced)

1-1/2 cup green peas

1 small onion (finely chopped)

½ cup celery (finely chopped)

2 cups chicken gravy (homemade or pre-made)

1 can cream of celery soup

1 can cream of chicken soup

2 tbsp milk or cream

2 tbsp butter

1 tsp. thyme

1 tsp. rosemary

Crust:

1-1/2 cup self rising flour

1/2 cup corn meal mix

1 cup + 2 tbsp. buttermilk

Garlic powder, paprika and parsley to top crust with

Directions: In large pot or skillet, sweat potatoes, carrots, onions, and celery in butter until tender. Salt and pepper to taste.

In large saucepan, make or heat chicken gravy. Add cream soups, milk/cream and herbs, heating throughout while whisking to make mixture smooth. If gravy seems too thick, add a little chicken or vegetable broth until desired consistency. Stir cooked chicken and vegetables into gravy mixture. Pour filling into generously sprayed baking dish.

In mixing bowl, combine flour, cornmeal and buttermilk to make a smooth batter. Pour evenly over the chicken & veggie filling. Sprinkle with garlic powder, paprika and parsley. Bake in preheated 350* oven for approximately 35 minutes or until crust is brown and done throughout.

Serve hot. Enjoy the comfort and praise you get for a delicious meal. Only you will know it was easy as pie.